As Easter draws to a close and we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Church at Pentecost this Sunday, we are reminded that we worship a God of exciting new beginnings—a God whose Spirit is abroad in the world making all things new.

In this week’s stories, we hear about a mother’s joy at learning of her son’s vocation to the priesthood. Pope Francis encourages us to be joyful heralds of hope as he releases the Bull of Indiction proclaiming the Holy Year 2025. And thousands from Australia’s Maronite Catholic community joined a procession through the streets in Western Sydney to celebrate the unveiling of a new Australian sanctuary dedicated to St Charbel, one of the world’s most popular saints.

There’s a lot going on in our Archdiocese and the broader Church this week. At the heart of this rich variety of events and initiatives is the call to nurture faith—our own and that of others.

In this week’s stories, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, along with other Victorian faith leaders, wrote to our state parliamentarians to affirm and defend the practice of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in Parliament, describing it as a way of ‘recognising that we, alone, are not the sole arbitrator of our destiny’. We hear from one of three university students whose faith was nurtured at John Paul II House in Carlton, culminating in two baptisms and a confirmation. And as the Vatican and wider Church prepare for the first ever World Children’s Day this weekend, Kate Moriarty reflects on the experience of walking beside a wriggly gang of preschoolers, and on what she has learnt about pointing them to Jesus.

To learn more about upcoming events and opportunities, visit the Melbourne Catholic events page.